GOP legislator supports gas tax hike

A Republican state legislator said Monday he’s ready to break from party orthodoxy and support an increase in the gasoline tax.

“I’m going to be brave and say yes,” state Rep. Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock of Killeen, said during a public forum at Rice University.

State Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, has floated a proposal to raise the gas tax, which hasn’t changed in 22 years. Across Texas, transportation officials estimate they need an additional $3 billion for new construction and $1 billion for maintenance.

Aycock, who chairs the House Public Education Committee, commented on the gas tax at an event sponsored by the Texas Tribune.

His education counterpart in the Senate, Dan Patrick, R-Houston, passed on the question, saying his head had been buried in education.

Aycock said he knew supporting a tax increase could be political suicide but “sometimes you’ve got to face reality.”